on orchestra programming changes

Sounds & Fury: Requiescat In Aeternum:

After reading this "new strategic plan" for the Philadelphia Orchestra for emerging from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, we feel a saner, decidedly more honorable plan would be for the Philadelphia Orchestra to convert that Chapter 11 into a Chapter 7 and have done with it — permanently. A Philadelphia Orchestra committed to a "cutback in concerts, from 92 to 78," and a "shifting of repertoire to include light classics ... Broadway music, film scores, and other pop genres" performed "in an environment that is more theatrical" is no Philadelphia Orchestra at all but a burlesque of a symphony orchestra.

Well, I disagree that film scores are inherently less than other contemporary music forms as each work should be judged on its own, there is something to be said for the "summer concert series" model. The NSO keeps things very successful by balancing their fall and spring seasons of "serious" classical with their summertime Wolf Trap performances to larger audiences, playing lighter faire like an annual Star Wars/Star Trek/Holst's Planets show, the Bugs on Broadway concerts, and a 3-day Gilbert and Sullivan production, plus other opera lite works and within that, a few classical heavies along the way like a Mozart or Verdi opera every couple of years.

In truth, its not transitioning to "lite" works, so much as diversifying, and for orchestras with such a large collection of works to choose from, that can't be a bad thing.